Peanut butter pie recipe

I have a new favorite pie that I will be sharing with my family at Thanksgiving—it’s peanut butter pie. But before I tell you how to make it, first a little background.

Two years ago, I received a cookbook in the mail. It was spiral-bound with a lavender cover that had a black and white photo of a woman pulling a tray of rolls from an oven. The title of the book was “Gennie’s Bishop Grill. The Best Buns in Town!!!”

Inside the front flap was an inscription: “Lisa, We hope you enjoy a little bit of Texas home cooking! Thanks, Rosemarie.” I scratched my head. I had not ordered this cookbook, nor was I familiar with either Rosemarie or Gennie’s Bishop Grill. It was strange.

A couple of days later, my dad called. “Lisa, did you send me a cookbook from Gennie’s Bishop Grill?” I told him I had not. Now I was really confused! Who was Rosemarie and why was she sending my dad and me cookbooks?

But before I had a chance to say this, my dad continued. “I love Gennie’s Bishop Grill! I used to eat there all the time!” He went on to tell me that Gennie’s Bishop Grill was a restaurant in the Bishop’s Art District that served up excellent home cooking. It was known for its chicken-fried steak, yeast rolls and its pies—namely its peanut butter pie. The owners of the restaurant, Rosemarie (daughter of Gennie) and her husband Gus, retired in 2005 and closed the restaurant. But they had a bunch of cookbooks and the Dallas Morning News had written an article about the restaurant, with an address to place orders for this trove of Texan home cooking.

I had wanted to make a custard-based peanut butter pie for quite a while, but most of the recipes I saw were the kind where you mix the peanut butter with cream cheese and whipped cream and spoon this into a chocolate-cookie crust. Not a bad dessert, but not quite what I was looking for.

I asked my grandma if she had one, and she recommended taking her chocolate pie recipe and substituting peanut butter for the chocolate. I followed her advice and fell in love. This was the peanut butter pie I had been seeking!

A few days later when I was talking to my grandma, she said, “Are you still looking for peanut butter pie recipes? I bet there’s a good one in that cookbook I sent you.”

Now, my grandma often sends me recipes clipped from the newspaper or photocopied from an old family recipe cards, but I didn’t recall her ever sending me an actual cookbook.

“What cookbook?” I asked.

“Oh, you know—the one from that Oak Cliff cafe that closed. I read about it in the paper and bought one for you and one for your dad.”

But of course! The mystery was solved. And yes, Grandma was correct—there was indeed a recipe for peanut butter pie in the cookbook. And while it was a little bit different from the one I had already made, I could tell by reading it that the food at Gennie’s Bishop Grill was pretty spectacular and I’m sorry I was never able to eat at their restaurant. But thankfully, their good food lives on in their cookbook, which I’m very happy to own.

Print

Peanut butter pie

Servings8

AuthorLisa Fain

Ingredients

Ingredients for the filling:

2large egg yolks, beaten slightly

1 1/2cupswhole milk

3/4cupssugar

5tablespoonsall-purpose flour

1/4teaspoonkosher salt

1/2teaspoonvanilla extract

1/8teaspooncinnamon

Pinchcayenne pepper

¾cupsmooth peanut butter

1unbaked 9-inch piecrust

Ingredients for the meringue:

2large egg whites

1/8teaspoonkosher salt

4tablespoonssugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

To make the filling, in a saucepot, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, sugar, flour, and salt. While stirring, cook on medium heat until it bubbles and thickens, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla, cinnamon, cayenne, and peanut butter until well combined.

Meanwhile, poke holes in the piecrust with a fork and bake until it’s brown, about 20 minutes.

To make the meringue, beat the egg whites with salt and when they start to get fluffy add the sugar.

Pour the peanut butter custard into the baked pie shell and top with the beaten egg whites. Bake pie until peaks on the meringue are lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

This is the second year that you've aced the pie post. Last year, it was Austin's Sweet Potato Pie, now this little gem.Call me sheltered, but I've never heard of a peanut butter pie before. Never. But it sounds delicious. And easy to make. Peanut butter custard.Genius.

My husband would love this. I had read on Gourmet's message board a month or so ago comments regarding PB pie with candied bacon!!! Those who made it loved it! Maybe for those who have an aversion to meringue could try this!

well, I finally have to jump in and comment. I used to work at a frame shop up the street from Bishop Grill. I remember grabbing a piece of matboard and scribbling the recipe to this pie that was posted on their wall from a newspaper article. I still have it.

Before I moved from Dallas I placed a little photo of myself on the celebrity wall of photos that my friends periodically updated me on.

I remember everyday they would go down to the farmer's market to get their vegetable sides to the venerable chicken fried steak. I still remember the line atthe original Gennies stretching out to the street holding open the screen door.

I briefly wrote for a show on a unnamed food channel show and they asked me if chicken fried steak is big in Texas. I just had to shake my head, thinkin if you have to ask…

I love that this recipe uses two egg yolks in the filling and the remaining egg whites in the meringue. I don't know if that's on purpose, but I like to think that we Texans are thrifty when it comes to ingredients. We would never come up with left over egg yolks or whites in a recipe we make, even if we could afford to do so. I see recipes everywhere that produce a lot of waste and it's sad to me. I can't wait to try this pie!

As with most things "variated" by HT, it's not a matter of if, but *when* I'll make the dish. It's rarely more than a week and this one was about a day and a half. I made the pie and let it "set" for dinner, which was on the light side. Served up the pie and let's just say that two adults and two teenagers ate it. All. In one sitting. I'm pretty sure that we all snored while smiling!

My Auntie Barb made her Peanut Butter Pie by layering a crumbly mixture of powdered sugar and peanut butter under and over vanilla custard, reserving a bit of it to sprinkle over the meringue with some chopped salted peanuts before baking. The separation of the custard and the peanut butter flavors inspired my little sister to name it "Abba Zaba Pie" after her kid-favorite candy bar. One year long ago at my oldest son's birthday pie request, I substituted chocolate instead of vanilla custard and added a new family favorite to add to a long list of home-made pies.

I enjoy your memories of family and Texas as much as your recipes. My family has roots and much-loved recipes from there going back six generations.

lately, i've replaced peanut butter in dessert recipes with a dark chocolate peanut butter that a friend brought me from nyc. it's over-the-top good. this might be a great way to use the last of the jar!

Not being an adept baker, I used slightly heaped tablespoons of flour which lead to a slightly gummy custard. I knew almost immediately, but the taste was sensational. I'll give it a go again using level tablespoons to lighten up the custard.

Somehow the meringue just screams out to be drizzled with chocolate, so maybe that could be my little spin on top.Noted, Uncle Richard is the Sweet potatoe pie expert.

Love the tiny smidge of cayenne in your pie! My peanut butter pie recipe has Texas connections, my mom invented it while visiting my sister in Houston and one of the grandkids said, Nana, do you know how to make pie? It's what she could come up without going to the store!

Hi!There is a wonderful peanut butter pie at the Coffee Cup Cafe in Hico, TX. We drive through there on our way from Fort Worth down to the Hill Country. My fiance loved it so much, we made peanut butter pie our groom's "cake" at our wedding! The wedding was closer to Austin, so we had Sansalone's bakery make up one for us. They did a great job, but the one at the Coffee Cup is unbeatable!Thanks for posting – I can't wait to surprise my husband with it!

This is my first visit to your blog (came via Michael Ruhlman on Twitter who posted your rendering Lard piece) This will be my NYE pie. Last year I made Emeril's from his 1st cookbook with a peanut butter cookie pie crust so this will be our 2nd year together and you have just sealed a new tradition. Cheers!

Lisa,I tried one in the pastry queen's christmas book and the custard didn't set up. i think i didn't cook it long enough; her directions were a little vague. i'm thinking of trying the filling fromthis one, although i do think i want a pastry crust, and either no topping or maybe meringue.

i tried swirling some cajeta into buttermilk pie but it just disappeared and changed the texture in a weird way. bummer. it seemed like such a good idea.

Lisa, Thank you so much for this peanut butter pie recipe! I have looked for this for at least twenty years! True! I have experimented & made a "decent" pie, but this one is the recipe I was trying to copy. Cream cheese & Cool Whip recipes=YUK! Thank you so much!

Post navigation

Recent Posts

Categories

Categories

Never miss a recipe!

Enter your email and you’ll receive a message every time a new post is published.

Leave this field empty if you’re human:

Related

My latest book!

Queso has arrived!

Queso (aka chile con queso) is a spicy, cheesy, comforting favorite that's long been a delicious addition to any gathering. This appealing and accessible book features a mix of down-home standards and contemporary updates, from historical, regional, and Mexican quesos to vegan and dessert quesos. A must for all queso lovers!